News and commentary

An excerpt from this op-ed submission was printed as a letter in the April 1, 2011 edition of the Globe and Mail.

By Paul Davidson
President and CEO
Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada

Canada’s universities are pleased to see postsecondary education emerge as a hot topic in the early days of this federal election campaign. The Liberal announcement of their proposed “Learning Passport” sparked a widespread discussion this week about the best way to open the doors of higher education to more students. Improving accessibility and quality are complex issues that warrant a robust national debate.

Globe columnist Margaret Wente offered a particularly cynical and misguided view of the value of university education in her column of March 31. While she shared with us the happy news that there’s lots of work for her hair colourist, her argument that we should have fewer, not more young people getting a university education flies in the face of current labour market research.

Let’s take a look at what happened during the recession. Between 2008 and 2010 there were 125,000 jobs lost in trades occupations in Canada compared to 300,000 new jobs created for university graduates. If we take a longer view, we see that since 2004 there were 110,000 more jobs in trades occupations, compared to 995,000 more for university graduates. It is no wonder that students are responding to labour market signals by enrolling in universities in greater numbers right across Canada.

Despite such arguments to the contrary, the value of a bachelor’s degree is not falling; it has in fact been rising over the last 25 years. The income advantage for a bachelor’s graduate over a registered tradesperson working full-time is 40 percent ($1 million) and bachelor’s graduates have a 75 percent income advantage ($1.4 million) over those with other types of trades certificates and diplomas. Although there are some misperceptions to the contrary, social science graduates enjoy the same relative income premiums as other bachelor’s graduates.

We also wonder whether Ms. Wente has heard about the looming demographic shift. In the next two decades, the number of Canadians over the age of 65 will double while the number entering the workforce will grow by only eight percent. It will be a buyer’s market for job-seekers. And the more than six million baby boomers retiring – most likely Ms. Wente among them – during this time will create greater demand for legal, health and social services throughout the economy. Expanding access and improving quality in university education will help solve Canada’s mid- and longer-term demographic, labour, economic and social challenges.

Perhaps less known than the personal benefits of getting a university degree are the public benefits. University graduates build communities. They volunteer more, engage more frequently in social and political activities, rely less on government benefits and place less strain on health care. In fact, university graduates generate 44 percent of revenues collected through income tax and only receive 16 percent of all transfers. It is this surplus that enables the provision of public services for those with less education.

Ms. Wente took a predictable shot at those studying in disciplines that may not be widely recognized as having good employment prospects. What she overlooks is that employers are increasingly looking for strong communication skills, analytical abilities, a capacity for leadership and problem-solving skills. Let’s remember that 10 years from now many of the students entering university today will be in jobs that don’t currently exist. Universities produce the flexible, adaptable, productive and knowledgeable employees that our changing labour market requires.

In attacking efforts to increase accessibility to universities, Ms. Wente writes that “Canada already has one of the highest postsecondary rates in the world.” In fact, Canada is no where near the top in university participation rates around the world. We rank 21st. However, Canada is one of the leading nations in the world in college and trade participation rates. She also incorrectly states a large portion of university students will not graduate. Research shows that five years after starting a university program 90% had either completed a degree or were still enrolled.

The facts show that a university education remains the surest path to prosperity and economic security for Canada’s families. It not only improves the lives of individuals and families, but it builds communities and secures a high quality of life for all Canadians. Investing in universities is one of the wisest investments a government can make.

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For more information , contact:
Helen Murphy
Communications Manager
Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada
Email: hmurphy@aucc.ca
Tel.: 613-563-3961, ext. 238

OTTAWA, March 30, 2011 – The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) launched its Election 2011 website today at www.universitiesmatter.ca. The site outlines the priority issues of Canada’s universities during this federal election campaign.

“Universities are accelerators to prosperity and economic security for Canadian families,” says Paul Davidson, AUCC president. “Renewed investments in higher education, research and innovation are a national priority that all parties can agree on.

Canada’s universities are asking candidates and parties to commit to investing in universities in order to find solutions to the challenges facing the country, prepare young Canadians to be global citizens, and make a high-quality university education and experience available to more Canadians.

“There are priorities that Canadians agree on and which all candidates and parties should commit to as part of their proposals for moving Canada forward,” says Mr. Davidson. “Investing in universities ranks high among them.”

AUCC’s election website includes useful information for all parties, candidates, the media and voters. It is updated daily and includes social media tools.

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Media Contact:

Helen Murphy
Communications Manager
Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada
Email: hmurphy@aucc.ca
Tel.: 613-563-1236, ext. 238

Ottawa, March 22, 2011 – The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada strongly welcomes the Government of Canada’s continued support for university research and international engagement as announced in Budget 2011.

“We’re pleased with the strengthened investment in university research and innovation in this budget,” says Michel Belley, chair of the AUCC Board of Directors and rector of the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. “This support will increase Canada’s capacity for discovery and innovation, and enhance the university learning experience for all students.”

Adds AUCC president Paul Davidson: “This budget represents tremendous progress for the university sector: more funding for the research councils, promotion of international educational marketing, additional support for students, and a range of measures to foster innovation and research.”

The $37 million increase in the annual investment in the three major granting councils (plus $10 million more for the indirect costs of research) will help universities pursue the research that drives innovation and produce the highly educated employees needed in all sectors of the economy.

“Canadians know that we have to increase productivity in order to prosper in the new global economy,” says Mr. Davidson. “These investments are leveraging university research, innovation and knowledge to make this happen.”

The university community is pleased with the establishment of 10 new Canada Excellence Research Chairs in the budget. The federal government has also announced a total of close to $250 million over six years for strategic research initiatives led by or involving Canada’s universities, including an additional $65 million for Genome Canada to continue its ground-breaking work, $100 million for neuroscience research, and $50 million over five years to the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics to support its research, education and public outreach activities.

Budget 2011 provides $10 million over two years to develop and implement an international education strategy that will reinforce Canada as a country of choice to study and conduct world-class research. It also includes measures to build on recent AUCC efforts to strengthen connections between Canadian universities and India, including a $12 million investment in the establishment of a new Canada-India Research Centre of Excellence.

“Canadian families know that university education leads to rewarding careers and helps strengthen communities,” says Mr. Davidson. “Three out of four new jobs created by 2017 will require university education. Furthermore, seven out of 10 jobs vacated by retiring baby boomers will require postsecondary education. This budget signals that understanding.”

AUCC is the voice of Canada’s universities. It represents 95 Canadian public and private, not-for-profit universities and university-degree level colleges.

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For interviews and information, contact:

Greg Fergus
Director, Public Affairs
Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada
Tel.: 613.563.3961 ext. 229
Mobile: 613.884.6416

Mélanie Béchard
Communications Officer
Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada
Tel: 613.563.3961, ext. 306
Mobile: 613.884.8401
mbechard@aucc.ca

Read the presentation

Africa set to benefit from international partnerships

Margaux Béland
Director, Partnership Programs
Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada

This letter was published on the Science Development Network website on January 6, 2011

There are some positive developments to share in response to Christopher Chetsanga’s argument for supporting young African scientists, put forth in his opinion article entitled Young African scientists must be able to contribute to development. A recent collaboration between Canadian and African universities, for example, announced just weeks ago in Ghana, aims to directly address the need for education and knowledge infrastructure in Africa, which, as Chetsanga points out, is so crucial to the continent’s future.

To mark African University Day on 11 November 2010, the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) and its African counterpart, the Association of African Universities (AAU), officially launched a partnership programme called “Strengthening Higher Education Stakeholder Relations in Africa”. These organisations have come together to forge 27 new university–industry partnerships in Africa, which will see Canadian and African researchers integrate their knowledge and help advance local and regional industries.

I am especially enthusiastic about one of these partnerships, formed by the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) in Tarkwa, Ghana, and the Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN) in Canada. As an integral part of the undergraduate engineering programme, students will be trained while working in the local oil and gas industry. UMaT is the only university in Ghana mandated to train engineers in this sector.

This initiative could not have come at a better time. Ghana is beginning to produce oil expected to generate revenues that, according to the International Monetary Fund, could contribute 4–6 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product over the next five years.

I was pleased to find that the programme is well placed to have a cross-border effect. At the official launch of the partnership between the AUCC and the AAU, Elias Asiam, dean of international programs at UMaT, noted that the university is training not only Ghanaian engineers but also professionals from the mining ministries of Liberia and Nigeria, among other countries. International partnerships between universities could boost the influence of such institutions on the agendas of host countries and, in this case, their neighbours.

The project is directed by John Quaicoe, dean of engineering and applied science at MUN, and a Canadian of Ghanaian origin. A visit to Ghana three years ago sparked his interest in sharing knowledge and experience with UMaT.

From my perspective at the AUCC, Quaicoe is not the only member of the developing world diaspora who is working to improve conditions in his native country. A 2008 survey of our flagship University Partnership for Cooperation and Development (UPCD) programme revealed that nearly 20 per cent of the project directors were originally from developing countries.

Since its launch in 1994, with the aim to strengthen higher education institutions in the South, the UPCD programme has funded more than 154 projects in such disciplines as education, natural sciences and the humanities. We all stand to gain from the mobility of scientists — whether from South to North, or North to South.

There has been a push for universities in the developing world to become more involved in setting national priorities since more than 100 countries signed the 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. It is time for universities, including scientists and researchers from all disciplines, to use sound research and innovative technologies as a positive influence on national agendas. And this is exactly what the AUCC and the AAU aim to accomplish with their new partnership in Africa.